Articles | Vivekananda International Foundation

There has of late been speculation that the Modi Government could usher in substantial changes in the country’s fiscal governance through three methods: First, by revising the financial year from the present April-March cycle to January-December; s....

August 30, 2016 Governance and Political Studies , Policies & Perspectives , Modi Government , Railway Budget , NITI Aayog

Interaction with Mr. Hasanul Haq Inu, Minister for Information, Bangladesh

The VIF had the privilege to host Mr. Hasanul Haq Inu, Hon’ble Minister for Information and President of the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesh, on 18 Aug 2016 for an interaction on India-Bangladesh relations and the way forward. The interaction c....

August 30, 2016 Neighbourhood Studies , Bangladesh , Interaction , West Pakistan , India-Bangladesh Relations , Hasanul Haq Inu

Big Business and Small Families

Prof R Vaidyanathan

Throughout sixties/seventies advertisements in print and visual media in the west projected “happy” families consist of husband /wife one boy one girl may be a dog. Happy family will not have mother-in-laws or sisters-in-laws, leave alone aged pa....

August 28, 2016 Economic Studies , Post–contraceptive , Civilization

Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN): Caution Should be the Key Word

Prof R Vaidyanathan

A New Regime of Taxation Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a broad-based, comprehensive, single indirect tax which will be levied concurrently on goods and services across India. It will replace most of the Central and State indirect taxes su....

August 27, 2016 Economic Studies , Goods and Services , Tax Network , GSTN , Input Tax Credit

Interaction with Prof. Daya Thussu on Leveraging India’s Soft Power

‘Soft Power’, a term coined by Joseph Nye in the late 1980s, has been gaining increasing salience in foreign policy debates the world over. While in India, the use of soft power as part of Indian diplomacy had begun even before the term was coine....

August 24, 2016 Historical and Civilisational Studies , Interaction , India’s soft power , Daya Thussu

A Talk on ‘Freebies and Good Governance’ by Mr. B. P. Singh, Former Governor of Sikkim

While freebies are considered among the surest and fastest means of providing succor to the needy poor, these come at a heavy cost to the national exchequer, as precious economic resources have to be diverted away from developmental projects, especia....

August 24, 2016 Vimarsh , Governance and Political Studies , Freebies and Good Governance , BP Singh , Citizen First

Sedition versus free speech: The conflict goes on

Rajesh Singh

A clamour to repeal the law dealing with sedition gains ground every time the police somewhere in the country files a case under the provision. The most recent example of this has happened in Bengaluru, when the Karnataka police regist....

August 23, 2016 Governance and Political Studies , Policies & Perspectives , Kashmir , Bengaluru

Islamic Radicalisation: The Zakir Naik Way

C D Sahay

Zakir Naik, a Mumbai based televangelist has been in news recently after one of the Bangladeshi youth involved in July 2, 2016 terrorist attack at the Dhaka Holey Artisan Bakery, admitted to having been influenced by the radical speeches and lectures....

August 22, 2016 Terrorism , Islamic Radicalisation , Zakir Naik , Bangladeshi youth , Peace TV broadcasts

Roundtable Discussion on China-Pakistan Nexus: Challenges and Response

The VIF held an internal Round Table Discussion on 12 August 2016, necessitated largely by the fact that China-Pakistan axis, which has remained India’s Achilles heel for long, has begun to manifest in recent years in ways that are increasingly det....

August 19, 2016 International Relations and Diplomacy , China , Interaction , CPEC , China-Pakistan Nexus , Baluchistan

DPP 2016: An enabler, not a show-stopper

Lt Gen (Dr) V K Saxena (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VSM

DPP or no DPP the onus of success or failure lies in the hands of those who operate the DPP. Like they say, the law is only as good as the enforcer of the law. DPP 2016 or DPP 2056, it will be only as good as the persons who operate it, who interpret....

August 18, 2016 National Security and Strategic Studies , Defence , Indian military , DPP 2016 , Defence industry. DRDO , Defence Acquisition Council